Dead or Alive U
by Knightlocke
Summary: Picking up from the events of Dead or Alive 2, Ayane is put to the task of finding Ryu Hayabusa, who has been missing for five years. Along the way she will uncover the mystery as to why he disappeared, and why a familiar cast is appearing around a not so ordinary university.


**My own take on the world of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden. It always bothered me how bad the story in DOA 5 was, and after seeing gameplay of DOA 5 Ultimate, I was inspired to write this fanfic. Hope you guys enjoy!**

The entire room was filled with noise as the village elders bickered back and forth in harsh tones, though none of it got through to Ayane. Her mind was far too busy reliving the events that transpired mere moments ago. She kneeled in the center of a room, waiting for her superiors in front of her to give out some sort of order, or maybe even place judgement upon her. Should the latter occur, she would accept her punishment without any resistance. There was no excuse great enough for having allowed the capture of the son of the village head, especially not by the person she was assigned to find and kill. Never in her entire life did she feel more shame than she did at this moment. For once she was glad that she had to bow her head. The elders would not be able to see the distraught look on her face.

"How did she manage to get in undetected? Surely she must have had some support!" the first exclaimed.

"Of course! She must be working with that company from the tournament. What was it? DOATEC?" the second answered.

"Enough about how she got in! What we need to focus on is finding out where she took him!" the third interrupted.

"What would her motive be for even taking him? No doubt it would be to spite-" the fourth and final began but was cut short.

"Enough!" a voiced boomed, silencing everyone in the room. Shiden, the source of the voice, was the village head. He had sat silently, patiently, throughout the entire course of the meeting, hearing out Ayane's report of the incident and his advisors' subsequent reactions and thoughts. Not only had he been forced to order the assassination of his beloved daughter not even a year ago, but now he hears that his only son who was left crippled and comatose was kidnapped by the very daughter he had cast out. Anger, frustration and sadness all boiled up inside of him. It took every inch of his being to retain his composure, which he did well, as no one looking at him would ever guess that he was feeling anything at all

"Ayane, are you sure that it was Kasumi who you saw?" Shiden asked, looking up from the ground toward his niece and stepdaughter.

"Yes," Even as she answered, she still could not believe it herself. The fact that that bitch had snuck into the village and taken Hayate from right under her nose was something she would never live down.

The village head took a deep breath, formulating his next sentence. Before he could ask his next question, however, Ayane followed up, "Please elders, allow me to pursue her!"

At first, she thought it best to go along with the elders' decision. However, there was no way she was going to let herself be outdone. All those years of hard work and training, all the years of abuse from others, was not going to be spent sitting idly by. She knew that even if her birth was "dishonorable", that even if she was a "cursed" child, that she was just as good-no, better than that damned woman. All she needed was a chance.

"Foolish child!" the second of the elders immediately answered, "It was your duty to find and kill the nukenin in the first place! If you cannot even do that, what makes you think that you can retrieve him from her?"

The elder's words stung, though Ayane had suffered greater verbal abuse than that throughout her life. Nevertheless, she was in a more vulnerable state at the moment, and clenched her teeth to refrain from raising her voice.

"And what makes you think _any_ of you can retrieve him from her?"

All the elders except Shiden were visibly shocked at the response, but then just as quickly realized that it was not The Killer Kunoichi that had spoken, nor was the voice female at all. A presence from behind Ayane revealed itself, and walked right next to her, then kneeled, showing respect for the village head.

"Master Genra!" the girl beside him exclaimed, surprised that he had returned from his mission.

"What do you propose then?" Shiden questioned, seemingly unfazed by his appearance. It seemed that only the village head had noticed a presence in the corner of the room since the meeting began. Only the Hajin Mon sect's master would be capable of such a feat, managing to fool the wisest of the clan.

"Kasumi is by far the strongest ninja in all the village," he began his response. "She could easily go toe-to-toe with everyone in this room. Even you."

"You dare question our head's strength!?" the third shouted.

Before he could defend himself, a hand from the person in question silenced the elder.

"Your point?"

"My point is that we need to get someone who matches her level of skill to retrieve the young master, and since no one in this clan can do that..."

"...maybe someone from another clan can," Shiden finished, lowering his outstretched hand.

"Is there not a certain Ultimate Ninja who we know is indebted to us?" Genra asked the room.

With that, the elders realized what the sect master was getting at. It was a stunning notion, for the man he was suggesting was unavailable to say the least.

"I do not understand. He is dead. Is he not?" the first asked, intrigued.

"What fools are you trying to make of us?" the fourth questioned.

Ayane was aware of the man's true status and had alway been. After all, she personally reported it to the her master and the village head. She looked up to Genra, who in turn, looked to Shiden, who then shook his head.

"We cannot divulge much information, but know that he is very much alive," the village head responded.

The four elders quietly contemplated the astounding news. After a while, the second asked, "Then, do we know where he is?"

"No, but I do know someone who can find him," Genra answered, looking over to the girl next to him. The Killer Kunoichi quickly realized that all eyes in the room had fallen upon her.

"I swear, I will find and bring him back!" she proclaimed.

"Why are you sending the girl? A task such as this should taken on by you yourself," the third retorted. Ayane tried her best not to make a face. Not only did they doubt her abilities, but it seems that they did not even know her name.

"Most of you are convinced that Kasumi is not working alone," Genra began his explanation."If that is true, we need to tighten up our defenses and ensure the safety of the village. I will personally see to that myself. Besides, it's not like the man we are looking for does not want to be found. It is just that no one has bothered looking."

The elders took a bit of time to contemplate his reasoning. After some silence, the village head took it that his advisors had no more complaints.

"Then, you had better get going Ayane," Shiden spoke, "You have twenty four hours to complete your task."

"Yes, master."

In the instant the words left her mouth, so too did her presence from the room. She had to make sure that none of the elders would be able to object, should one of them have changed their mind.

Master Shiden had given her a full day to track down a man who could be anywhere in the entire world. She was pleased at his leniency. Not even a minute had gone by and she had scaled the tallest mountain among the ones that surrounded the village. There, Ayane got down on one knee, and placed her hand flat upon the earth. Then after whispering a mantra, she concentrated all of her spiritual energy and let it flow into the mountain and the rest of the land. The act was physically draining, as all the energy in her body was being used up.

Ninja are trained to be able to mask their presence, but so long as they remained on the planet, Ayane would be able to find them. A technique passed down through the Hajin Mon sect allows for the user to commune with the very Earth and sense all life that lives on it. The technique however, puts a lot of stress on the user, and only lets he/she "see" a certain distance away. This distance varies with the skill of each practitioner, with Ayane being able to easily see all of Japan. Should his presence not be found, the kunoichi would move onto mainland Asia and use the technique there. Her plan was to guess and check each part of the world. Eventually, she would have her man.

Luckily for her, she would not have to go very far, for she felt an old but familiar presence not too far north. There was a lot riding on the mission that urged her not to waste a single moment, but part of her haste was also an eagerness to see an old friend. An old friend that she felt had abandoned her, and she was determined to find out why.

* * *

Ryu Hayabusa sat in the center of a long abandoned warehouse. Any metal on the outside, mostly the roof, had completely rusted. Metals on the inside, however, were spared from the elements and had fared better, looking closer to what it did in its former years. The outer walls were completely white, spare a couple splotches of blue where there used to be words. Inside, the paint on the walls, which used to be blue, had long since faded. Instead it formed a sort of gradient, with lighter hues at the top and the original color at the bottom. All the windows were murky and could not be seen through, although most were located up three stories. Sunlight came through four large skylights and were Ryu's source of light during hours of daytime. During the night, power from backup generators turned on automated lights. The warehouse was empty for the most part, with the occasional oil drum and stacks of empty crates littering the ground floor.

The ninja was situated in front of the only open entrance to the building, which was a large automated warehouse door, in what would be considered the back of the warehouse. It was early in the morning, only minutes after sunrise. He had just woken up and was awaiting his daily visitor. While waiting, he closed his eyes and meditated over past events.

Everything was normal...except for a presence hiding behind a crate directly to his left, a couple yards away. He had not noticed it until he felt it drop from one of the iron beams close to ceiling. Most likely the girl had snuck in through one of the windows. Normally at this point, Ryu would have faced the intruder, but he felt no killing intent. More importantly, he recognized the presence the instant he felt it. It was one that he would never forget.

"It has been too long Ayane," he called out to the kunoichi behind the crate, still maintaining his meditative stance. The girl then revealed herself and made an audible click with her tongue. There was no real reason to disguise her presence, but after all the years they had been apart, she thought she'd see how much her skills had improved. At the least she was hoping she could stand in the open without him noticing. After all, most people don't notice her until her kunai is touching their neck. She then realized that was hoping for a lot considering who she was dealing with.

"How long did you know I was here?"

"Just now. You've improved considerably." Ayane smiled. Master Ryu was never one to flatter, so if he said she improved it had to be true.

"Why have you come for me?"

The question changed her mood, reminding her of her purpose. Her smile faded as she took on a solemn expression. At first she stared at the ground, then shifted her gaze back up to the ninja. Master Ryu sat cross-legged, unmoving. A draft from the open door played with his long hair, which was tied back. His face was eye-catching to say the least. It was beautiful and (at the moment) gentle, betraying the rest of his physique which was hardened for battle. Instead of his normal shinobi outfits or traditional Japanese wear, he wore civilian attire consisting of a sleeveless grey hoodie, matching grey jogging pants and blue training shoes.

"We need you to come back."

"I can't." His response was instant. Just as Ayane was about to speak again, Ryu continued, "At least, not right now."

"You know I cannot take that response. I have come to bring you home," she stated, making the latter sentence sound like a command.

Instead of words, he replied by standing up and facing her. He opened his eyes, making eye contact, revealing a unique colored iris, green with a tinge of gold. The sight of them intimidated Ayane, who was already preparing for the worst.

Ryu viewed Ayane for the first time in five years, and was saddened at how much she had grown. Only strife and hardships could make a person mature and age so quickly. Still, she had become a fine woman, possessing all of the important qualities that a kunoichi needed, whether it be seducing, killing or both. Ayane had looks that could kill, so to speak. Unfortunately though, she had her mission, and as a ninja she would see it carried out until the end, with the only way out being defeat. Which means that even if the odds were against her, she had to at least try. Ryu, however, sensed that there was a part of her that wished to fight for a different reason. Ayane wished to settle a score, and he was more than willing to oblige.

Both ninja locked eyes and assumed their fighting stances, being skilled masters of their respective arts. Since The Killer Kunoichi was the challenger, she felt it right to make the first move. All of a sudden, Ayane broke into a sprint toward Ryu, closing the gap between them. Just as she was about to enter his striking distance, she quickly leapt up into the air and performed a backflip over him, dodging his strike, then landing with their backs to each other. Without missing a beat, she performed another backflip, this time catching his head between her legs whilst doing so. Then, using the momentum, performed another backflip sending Ryu flying into a set of wooden crates, shattering them. Surprisingly, she was off to a good start.

The Ultimate Ninja had not fought such a tough opponent in a long time. He had wondered how much of his strength he was going to have to use. Her first move answered, all of it. Quickly, the ninja attempted to stand back up moving piles of wood off his back as he did so. Noticing that Ayane was nowhere to be seen, Ryu looked up in time to see her curled up into a ball, spinning rapidly and just as quickly descending, as her feet shot out toward the ground. She landed with a loud thud, as her feet came in contact with his back followed by a grunt of pain from her victim.

She then leapt off him, and watched as the ninja recovered, waiting for another chance to strike.

As soon as Ryu was up on his feet, Ayane rushed once more, performing three upside down spinning high kicks. All of which made contact, but were blocked, missing the intended target: his head. This presented the ninja with an opportunity to retaliate. As the kunoichi finished her move, he performed three quick high jabs with his palms, successfully landing each one. After finishing, he assumed the ongyoin stance which he uses to teleport. Seeing this, Ayane prepared herself as Master Ryu could appear anywhere around her. To her surprise however, he did not teleport, and instead launched himself at her, head first whilst spinning rapidly. His head made contact with her abdomen, sending her flying back onto the hard ground, knocking the wind out of her.

It was then his turn to watch as she got back onto her feet, clutching her abdominals. The two made eye contact and paused, waiting for the other to make a move. Then, in an instant, both raced towards the other to strike.

The two traded blows for a few more minutes. Though both had taken similar punishment, it seemed that The Killer Kunoichi was not holding up as well as the Ultimate Ninja. Her strikes became more and more predictable, even as she sent out a barrage of them, aiming at different parts. Ryu blocked each and everyone and decided that now was a good time to end the fight. After catching one of her jabs, Ryu held onto her hand and pulled her forward so that she faced his back. Then, using his right leg, kicked her in the chest, sending her flying straight up into the air.

As Ayane reached the highest point, she realized what had happened and what was to come next. This was Ryu's signature move: the Izuna Otoshi. Moments later, he would teleport next to her and grab her at the waist, then twist so that she would land head first whilst spinning rapidly. She waited for this to occur, but after feeling her comparatively slow descent back down, knew that it was not coming. Instead, she fell onto the hard ground and landed on her back, which was not nearly as painful as if Ryu had actually gone through with his move. As she lay on the ground recoiling in pain, she felt someone standing over her. Sure enough the Ultimate Ninja stood beside her, arms crossed, waiting for her to recover.

Sighing, Ayane spoke the words he was waiting for, "I admit defeat."

As she said it, he grabbed her arm closest to him and helped her up onto her feet. Though she felt slightly disoriented and bruised, her body was used to physical punishment and had already healed most of the damage she had taken, the same was true for Ryu who took quite a bit of punishment himself. Though the chance was slim, an outcome with his defeat could have been very real.

The two stood side by side for some time, contemplating on what to say next, neither one looking at the other. Ayane ended up being the first to come up with something.

"Is there really nothing that could convince you to return? You haven't even heard my reasons for coming."

Ryu said nothing, not even bothering to look at her. Ayane paused, attempting to think of a way to convince him to return home. It was not like him to deny a request from a friend and ally. Then again, it was not like him to feign death and go into hiding for five years. She figured that the attack on his village changed him, but surely if he knew the trouble his friends were in then he would help.

"Like, what if I told you your childhood friend has been left crippled and comatose!" Ayane almost yelled, but managed to hold herself back, causing the latter part of the sentence to be choked. She surprised herself, having only now realize how upset she actually has been at Master Ryu's departure.

The news of his friend's kidnapping combined with Ayane's emotional outburst elicited a response from the ninja. Turning his head slightly, Ryu made eye contact. Something that ninja learn early in their training is that there is one part of the human body that is incapable of lying: the eyes. Sure enough, her eyes expressed a feeling of anger and betrayal, matching her actual facial expression.

Turning his head back, he pleaded, "Please, tell me everything that has happened."

In the next few minutes, Ayane quickly explained the important events that occurred during his absence, starting from when Raidou, Shiden's brother and her own father, fought Hayate and defeated him, shattering his spine and placing him in a coma. Then, she talked of Kasumi leaving the village in order to avenge her brother, causing her to be placed in charge of her assassination. In pursuit of the runaway ninja, Ayane entered the Dead or Alive tournament, which pitted various fighters from around the world to face each other. Embarrassingly, she was defeated by Kasumi herself who went on to win the tournament. After that, no one had seen her since, at least not until that fateful night which led to her being in Ryu's presence.

The Ultimate Ninja had listened to her story intently. It was obvious that the kunoichi had been through a lot, and did not have many allies and friends to turn to for help. Other than Hayate, Kasumi, and Genra, there were not many others in the village who would even want to be in her presence, let alone interact with her. His friendliness and tolerance toward her was part of the reason she was so eager to help him in his training, even if he was from another clan. In fact, if it weren't for her, he might not have been able to save his village, for it was her that warned him of its attack.

Though it was years late he felt he it was necessary. He turned his head in her direction, and after locking eyes stated, "I'm sorry."

She wanted to hear more, she wanted to say more, but as ninja it was in both of their natures to not show weakness. All she could do was look away and accept the apology. Besides, it was unfair of her to ask for more, sure that he must have had his own reasons for leaving. Maybe hearing those reasons would help alleviate some distress.

"Master Ryu, could you at least tell me why you left?"

After hearing those words, unwanted memories began to resurface. He began to remember five years ago when he had lost the love of his life, when he had failed to avenge her and the others in his clan, and when he had lost own life. With a quick shake of his head, he brushed off the sad memories.

"Again, not right now, but someday I will. I promise."

Ayane sighed. She supposed that someday was better than not at all.

"Well," she began, figuring that it was worth a shot "does it have anything to do with her?" As she said it she nodded her head in the direction of the open door, where a young woman around her age was hiding.

Ryu smiled. "It's okay Momiji, you can come in."

The Killer Kunoichi watched, as a slender figure revealed itself. The girl was around her height, but slightly taller. Her hair was jet black and tied back into a ponytail. As for clothing, she wore a similar outfit to Ryu, wearing a white sports jacket, red jogging shorts and white training shoes. More importantly, were her facial features. Momiji was very beautiful, and had a soft look in her eyes which were hazel colored. Though she had only been mere acquaintances, there was no doubt in her mind that this girl resembled that person.

"Master Ryu is she-" she began, facing the girl, and as she turned to the ninja all she saw was a hand held up towards her, then the man nodding his head. That confirmed it, and with that pieces of the puzzle started falling in place. Ayane had a pretty good idea of why Master Ryu had disappeared for so long. She was unsure of a lot of it, but one thing was for sure: It had _a lot_ to do with this girl.

**I would just like to say, that the moves I described them using were all moves used in game. I could have come up with anything but I took the high road and actually watched videos of them performing the moves, so yeah I hope you people like that part. :p**


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